Peace of mind

Posted: Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 - 11:10:04 pm PDT
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By LUCY DUKES
Staff writer 

SHAWN GUST/Press The Riverview Cemetery has proposed improving the grounds by replacing the chain-link fencing with wrought-iron fences. The changes would take place on both the Government Way side of the cemetery as well as the west side adjacent to Lincoln Way.

Cd'A Parks Department seeks to replace fencing, pave roads, add lighting to city cemeteries

COEUR d'ALENE -- People go to cemeteries to get peace of mind and think about life and death, and when they visit, they want a peaceful place to go, said Vickie Roberge, chairwoman of the city's Cemetery Advisory Board.

"I think they get peace of mind from knowing their loved ones are in a nice, beautiful, aesthetically pleasing place," she said.

Proposed improvements such as wrought-iron fencing for Forest Cemetery, repaving roads and new lighting would make the cemetery look nicer, as well as help prevent vandalism, she said.

At the April 1 meeting, the City Council will consider authorizing the Parks Department to borrow the $390,000 needed for the improvements from the $2 million Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund. The improvements would also include installing a water conservation system, as well as 320 niches for ash burial at Forest Cemetery and 480 new niches at Riverview. Sales of the niches are expected to bring in $600,000 to pay for the improvements.

There is only one niche left at Forest and there are 231 left at Riverview. Forest is located between Government Way and Lincoln Avenue in the city's "Garden District," and the newer Riverview lies just across the street. Forest Cemetery is nearly sold out of burial lots, and Riverview is expected to have lots available for 20-25 years. Niches can be added "almost indefinitely" to cemeteries, according to a proposal for the improvements presented to the city's General Services Committee on Monday.

The wrought-iron fencing would be installed at Forest Cemetery. The project would also include replacing some damaged trees and planting new ones in Riverview.

The fencing ties in with the area much more nicely than the chain-link fence, said Parks Director Doug Eastwood.

"The whole place is going to look nicer and more inviting," he said.

Eastwood recalled an old friend who told him 20 years ago that the upkeep of cemeteries indicate the health of a community. He said that if the cemetery is run down, the community is undergoing difficulties, Eastwood said.

"Our cemetery should always look healthy," he said.

Roberge said that the advisory board took a long time to look at potential improvements -- more than a year -- and the proposals were the priorities that members came up with.

"People take a lot of pride in their cemeteries and they want things to look spruced up at all times," she said.